Mr. Ingo Herbert, the new German Consul has just assumed duties to oversee consular activities at the German consulate in Lagos, Nigeria.
In a chat with newsmen, the Consular promised to support every effort the Federal government to stop corruption and recover looted funds kept in any German bank.
He also assured Nigerians that those applying for visa will receive fair and decent handling of their visa applications.
Herbert appeared delighted on what he has seen on the streets of Lagos as he tries to discover the city, and the friendliness of Nigerians.
In an interview with VERA WISDOM-BASSEY in Lagos, Mr.Herbert promised Germany will support Nigeria’s fight against terrorism.
when asked to compare how he sees Nigeria to his country Germany, he replied:
I have been in the Republic of Germany and Nigeria. For Nigeria, it’s been meaningful, it’s a large country with different people. As I said, it’s like the Federal Republic of Germany with different people of Southern Germany and Northern Germany.
But I must say that I find people here very open, very friendly and very positive to new comers, very open to people from other countries. I don’t feel like a stranger, here in Lagos because a lot of people will like to talk to you, approach you and that makes the beginning I would say a smooth landing, although Lagos is a city that is not easy to understand, with its different areas.
On terrorism, he said:
Germany is supporting many initiatives, it depends on which framework Europe is using. As European Union, we are part of it. For example in Mali, there is a coalition of the UN. We also see that we took two sides and one side is really the fight by the police or military and the other side is to look on what are the reasons for terrorism and that means we try to support under-developed countries through education, health care, and also provide jobs for them.
Another question put to him was how Germany is helping Nigeria so that looted funds are recovered and returned?
In his reply he said:
We support the new policy that the president has made to fight corruption. Whatever Germany can do, Germany will assist.
Is there any specific effort your country is making to return looted funds?
As far as I see it, we are not into tracking files, but we support the G7 frame work, and others through the help of police and we are ready to assist Nigeria to recover looted funds.
-Emmanuel Ikechukwu
